MTA to Give Companies Discounts if Workers Use Mass Transit

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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is trying to entice employees at major companies to use mass transit or carpool.


Companies that now pay all or part of the $52 monthly fee for transit passes for their employees can now buy annual pass cards with computer chips inside them. And if companies can persuade all their employees to use mass transit, they can get at least 50 percent off the $624 annual fee.


The MTA is also boosting its incentive program for people who carpool. Until now, if a worker at a company with 250 or more employees carpooled at least five times a month for three consecutive months, they were eligible to receive a $5 gift certificate to Starbucks Coffee stores.


Under the new incentives, if an employee at a company of any size carpools at least eight times a month for three months, they can receive $15 gift certificates to Starbucks, Ralphs, Target or Best Buy stores.


“All of these programs are designed to get cars off the roads,” said David Sutton, employer programs manager with the MTA. “If we can reduce car traffic 10 percent or even 5 percent, you would notice that in your own personal commute. Just look at how smoothly things flowed during the holidays.”


Right now, Sutton said, only about 200 companies participate in the transit pass program, accounting for 7,000 passes a month. That’s only a small fraction of the 180,000 employees working at these firms.


The new “smart card” annual passes can be swiped into electronic readers, although it will take about a year for all MTA buses and chains to be outfitted with the equipment. In the meantime, pass holders will be able to flash the card to gain entry.


Similar programs have been instituted in several systems, including the Dallas transit agency once run by MTA Chief Executive Roger Snoble.


The MTA is discussing discount programs for annual passes with several companies. While the discounts will be at least 50 percent varying by company the catch is that each employee must use mass transit on a regular basis.


So far, only Los Angeles City College has agreed to participate, purchasing discounted passes for students and teachers. The school happens to be subway close and there’s very little on-campus parking.


“These sorts of strategies can help encourage commuters to stick with transit or ridesharing, even if they encounter obstacles like crowded park-and-ride lots or occasional late express buses,” said Dana Gabbard, executive secretary of Southern California Transit Advocates.

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